Geneology - What's yours?

[Cynthia]

I was born blond and the older I got it started changing.... by middle school, I think it was, my hair had darkened more to brownish shades.

Now, my hair is brown with the coppery highlights and I even have random black hairs (along with silver ) mixed in there.

[davedove]

I tell everyone my ancestry is a whole heap of English and German, with a handfull each of Scottish and Irish, plus a sprinkling of French and Welsh.

The Dove line is English, the best I can tell. I have traced it back to a Sanford Dove in Virginia in the late 1700's. Supposedly, the original Dove in the New World was an indentured servant who came in through Annapolis.

My dad's mother was a McKean. I have traced that line back to a Thomas McKean in the Maryland/Pennsylvania area about the time of the Revolutionary War. Much like Matty Ross, there was a Thomas McKean who signed the Declaration of Independence, but I don't seem to be related. It doesn't help that there were at least a dozen Thomas McKeans all living in the same area. This line appears to trace back to Northern Ireland.

I have also traced one of her lines back to a Robert Cahoon in North Carolina, who appears to be the son of a Samuel Cahoon who was born in Dunbarton, Scotland. I'm not sure of this link though.

My maternal grandmother, a Krummel, was 100% German extraction. All of her grandparents came over from Germany in the second half of the 1800's.

My maternal grandfather's line, Edwards, hasn't been traced back very far. I can get to his parents and it fizzles out.

[jordanjm]

ChattanCat,

I would also propose that you are most likely related to members of the clan Chattan Confederation clans as well.

[Alan H]

My Paternal Grandfathers line has been French Canadian since the late 1600's. My surname "Hebert" is quite common in Ottowa.

My Paternal Grandmothers line is from North Carolina, with many intermarriages in there with English and Dutch. However, there's also a "Bryson", way back during the Revolutionary War. A Bryson brother and sister emigrated from Scotland around 1750, and Bryson is a sept of the MacFarlanes.

My Maternal Grandfathers line is Swedish.

My Maternal Grandmothers line contains a number of interesting Celtic names.

Martha McKnight is an ancestor. Her father ran "McKnights Tavern", a famous landmark in Alexandria, which is marked by a prominent sign with much information. George Washington dined there and for a time, the Alexandria Masons Lodge met at the tavern. McKnight is the anglicization of "MacNacht" . Martha's Grandfather, John emigrated from Ulster in 1731, which *suggests* that there's a chance that John McKnight might be a descendent of the "Shane Dubh", quite the infamous character, who is a younger son of one of the MacNacht chieftans. MacNachts/McKnights/MacNaught has been a common name in Antrim for a very, very long time. In fact the current chief of the Clan lives in Co. Antrim, Ireland.

Martha's granddaughter married Edward Hall in Philadelphia around 1830. I can find no record of his ancestry, so I don't know if Edward was a "Scottish" Hall or an "English" Hall. Whatever the case, the Halls are a border family, though the name is widely scattered throughout both England and Scotland.

Finally, Martha's daughter Married a Henry Piercy. My g-g-grandmothers name was Katherine Piercy Romney Hall. "Piercy" is the name of the royal line of Northumberland, now the Duke of Northumberland, and in the fascinating book "The Lodge of Washington", published around 1820, which is a recounting of short bibiliographies of the members of George Washingtons Masons Lodge in Alexandria, it says..." Henry Piercy "of the Piercy's of Northumblerland"...... So I have a connection to Northumberland as well.

So I have connections, mostly very, very old ones to Hall, MacNaughton, Piercy and MacFarlane/Bryson

[ChattanCat]

ChattanCat,

I would also propose that you are most likely related to members of the clan Chattan Confederation clans as well.

Yes, that is sure. The Catanach's and MacGillvray's shared borders and there was intermixing of blood, cuz.

[SteveB]

Great discussion gang.! My favourite passion in the genealogical side is the source research and documentation. It has taken me decades to get where I am. Many thousands of entries in an ever growing database of family relations. My primary work as a genealogist is researching lines for people trying to prove lineage to one of the twenty-six Mayflower passengers that produced descendants. I have walked through cemeteries all over the United States and Canada. I have taken two fortnight holidays to research in Ireland, England, and Scotland. The addiction is as bad as kilts! From my work, I can safely say that about two thirds of what you get on ancestry.com is wishful thinking. It is a good starting point, but EVERYTHING that is mentioned must be verified with primary sources. I will do the DNA thing for my patrilineal line in the near future as my documentation is a wee bit thin for my liking on the Lamont side. My MacNeil is very well documented as the family passed down many gouvernment documents and Bibles. One bible has records in it dating to the 14th century. The Bible is an antique and of value as it was produced in the beginning of the thirteenth century. The writing is difficult, but is readable and can be translated. These I treasure.
Slainte

[BoldHighlander]

Great discussion gang.! My favourite passion in the genealogical side is the source research and documentation. It has taken me decades to get where I am. Many thousands of entries in an ever growing database of family relations. My primary work as a genealogist is researching lines for people trying to prove lineage to one of the twenty-six Mayflower passengers that produced descendants. I have walked through cemeteries all over the United States and Canada. I have taken two fortnight holidays to research in Ireland, England, and Scotland. The addiction is as bad as kilts! From my work, I can safely say that about two thirds of what you get on ancestry.com is wishful thinking. It is a good starting point, but EVERYTHING that is mentioned must be verified with primary sources. I will do the DNA thing for my patrilineal line in the near future as my documentation is a wee bit thin for my liking on the Lamont side. My MacNeil is very well documented as the family passed down many gouvernment documents and Bibles. One bible has records in it dating to the 14th century. The Bible is an antique and of value as it was produced in the beginning of the thirteenth century. The writing is difficult, but is readable and can be translated. These I treasure.
Slainte

Very cool Steve!
I too enjoy "the hunt", though I have not (yet) got to travel as you have.
I have also been blessed that in many of my searches I have met previously unknown cousins who helped fill in the blanks. The internet can be a wonderful tool!

[Phogfan86]

Here are the Scottish surnames I have:

Abernethy / Allerdale / Angus / Arran / Avenal / Barclay / Beaumont / Boncle – Bonkyl / Borthwick / Boyd / Brechin / Brown / Bruce / Buchan / Bute / Cameron / Campbell / Canmore / Carmichael / Carrick / Cheyne / Comyn-Cumyn / Crawford / Crichton / Danzielstour / De Burgh / Douglas / Dunbar / Dundas / Erskine / Fenton / Fitzwalter / Fleming / Forrester / Fraser / Galloway / Gifford / Gilbertsson / Gillbridesson – Gillebrideson / Gordon / Graham / Grant / Gray / Gremislaw / Haliburton – Halyburton / Hamilton / Hay / Hepburn / Hom – Home / Hunter / Huntington / Inchmartin / Isaac / Keith / Kent / Ker – Kerr / Lennox / Leslie / Leuchars / Lindsay / Littleboy / Livingston / Lochore / Lumsdale / Lundie – Lundy / Macanmohair / Maccrinan / Macdonachadh / Macdonald / Macdougal / Macduff / Macdunghal / Macfearghal / Macfergus / Macgillebride / Macgilronan / Maclulach / Macalan / Macalpin / Macbeth / Mackenneth / Macrory / Maddan / Malise / Mar / Meams / Menteith / Miller / Montgomerie – Montgomery / Montifex / Moor / Moore / Moravia / Moray / Morel / Mortimer / Mowat / Mure / Murray / Ogilvie – Ogilvy / Oliphant / Ramsay / Robertson / Ross / Sandilands / Seton / Sinclair / Somerville / Steward / Stewart / Stirling / Strathbogie / Strathearn / Urquhart / Wemyss

[Redregon]

though i cannot say what names i'm related to other than McCallum and the Browns (German?), i'm very interested in seeing the results of this thread.

i wonder, has there ever been a website that lists family trees going back as far as possible? i'd consider doing it (heheh, In Ardua Tendit certainly) though i think right now i'm going to focus mainly on finding those McCallums/Malcolms as far back as i can.

[gilmore]

...
i wonder, has there ever been a website that lists family trees going back as far as possible? ....

There are several that purport to, but as was mentioned earlier, it's best to take them with a grain of salt, as a places to start that need to be verified independently. Most of them have no quality control at all and just post whatever people send them.

You might try here http://www.familysearch.org/eng/default.asp and here http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/

There is also ancestry.com, but it is a pay site.

Good luck!